and willie harris flirting with a long ball for the second time tonight. >> rob: willie harris. >> reporterit looked good for a while and then it had that big hook. >> rob: there is a huge whole between first and second and a great swing right here with the toronto defense and richardson. he laid a fastball down broadway. >> bob: now, he shows bunt early. a throw to first base not even on the bag. that's ball 2. 2-1, good running count. willie not showing bunt early this time. and the count's even 2-2. now with more of a possibility of the runner going, the second base umpire has shifted from the shortstop to the second base side of the bag. there is the umpire. he was right over right between the pitcher and the shortstop before. kind of interesting to watch how they change positions and get ready for certain plays. 2-2. >> rob: if you send the runner right here, try to hit the ball to the right side, still moves the runner up. >> bob: yep. >> rob: maybe get through that hole. >> bob: he is holding. that's a breaking ball inside and gonzalez is back. 3-2 now. when you are working with a sh

willie taking it in. they have been trying to pound him inside on his hands. >> rob: those are not some good numbers. >> bob: you have to remember this kid is on in his third profkonl season. blue jays have a pitching issue or right now with roy halladay hurt. >> rob: he does recognize the whole hand behind the back, they can recognize it. so when he went back and was working on this, he is trying to straighten up his body during his delivery. he feels like when he bends over too much, he really show that ball in the back. >> bob: took a little bit off the fastball, 89 that time, 2- 1. >> rob: let's see a shot on cecil. there you see it, goes way out back and brings it over the top. i would say also, when you get a little bit tired on the mound, that big arm swing is going to eventually slow down and you are not going to be able to catch up with the rest of your body and you will throw a lot more balls. >> bob: willie harris, little pop-up and unreachable, just over the dugout. 2 balls, 2 strikes. >> ro

it's willy aybar hitting for gross, former atlanta brave. villone will throw him a breaking ball hit to the right side. willy aybar originally signed by the dodgers. a couple of years there. atlanta 06 and 07. didn't play in 07 because of a wrist injury and substance abuse problem. he hit .253 for the rays in 95 last year. 0-2. >> bob: still at 2nd, carlos pena. 1-2. that one really sailed. >> rob: a little bit hard on his changeup. maybe break a breaking ball off here on the shoe tops of aybar. >> bob: danger lurking. aybar racing. the ball hits the base. the rays take the lead. willie harris was waiting for the ball. it hit the 3rd base back deflecting to left field. [cheering and applause]  >> rob:  very good pitch by ron villone. it's going to kick off the bag and go to left field. carlos pena will score on the play. >> bob: crawford will run for willy aybar who will get a double on that. then he'll come in and play left field. the rays have a chance and position to sweep the series now now. [cheering and a

willie harris takes off.ou have to tell your pitcher to step off when that happens. >> bob: that's the nats' 23rd of the year. >> rob: he started wil off with a change-up, hoping he would bite. so wil doing a great job of take that go --taking that first pitch. >> bob: way outside with that pitch. 2-1. >> bob: millar was already aboard when he robbed chavez into the gap. now, he has doubled, stolen third.

. >> well, willie, we have always given handle at-bats. even if he does not start, it's tough not to give him a place out there if he is the guy, we're going to do it. he is a luxury. >> johnny: and he was the guy tonight there is willie harris being led across home played in the bottom of the 12th moments ago as the nationals win it 5-3 in 12 here at nationals park. >> phil: well, again, you have a couple of things at work here. you have a bullpen that seems to have found itself and a young starting rotation that has been remarkably good, defying logic good. obviously, you would have loved to have won this game 3-1 for ross detwiler's first major league victory. that didn't happen. he pitched well enough to win. he had a situation tonight where kip wells came into the ballgame and he had not yet allowed an inherited runner to score and sooner or later it was going to happen. it happened tonight. bottom line, they won and willie harris hit a homerun to win the game. >> johnny: we'll take a break and continue the celebration here at nationa

it will be up to willie harris. by the way, willie harris had dropped his bat in the on deck circle and he was running to home plate to serve as a possible traffic cop or base coach for alberto gonzalez. sew the rays will go to the left hander here. j. p. howell has been running up. a runner at third, two outs in the 8th in a tie game here at the trop. times the bills i used to. and they're getting in the way of things i'd like to do. with the money bar, i can move my money around instantly, so when there's more bills than usual, it's no problem. and i use the wish list to put any extra money aside for anything i want. being in control of my money feels good. introducing the virtual wallet from pnc, a high-definition, online view of your money. pnc. leading the way. for the next minute, i'm gonna show you what it's like to have verizon fios. these are your widgets, they let you put whatever you're watching down here, while you check out local traffic, weather, even your news up there. i've got a news flash you're ou

willie started then stopped.l one to hernandez who walked and been in -- rather singled tonight. there's austin kearns. rick eckstein told me austin kearns is so close to getting hits. he's really pleased with some of his at-bats this past road trip. he hit that ball last night 405 feet that brent gardener caught up against the wall injuring himself. so, eckstein is not at all reluctant to see austin kearns in there hacking. if he says so, that's good enough for me because he can tell when a hitter is just about getting back to where he should be. now it's 3-0. i think rick is one of those guys who really takes it personally when his guys aren't going well. he's going to do anything he can to get it going. >> rob: let's check out carlson's delivery now. if you're at first base, if that front foot crosses that line, you can take off because he will be going to the plate. right there he's just on that border. you want to -- you don't want to take off because then he can throw to first. then, you see if he does a ba

a willie harris is like an ozzy smith. he is just trying to put the ball in play off your 95. >> bob: nasty breaking ball and willie hits it pretty well. >> rob: and then you speed his bat up and he pulls his breaking ball and you are like, what am i supposed to throw this guy? >> bob: right down into the picnic area. they tried all kind of gimmicks over the years to get people into this building. last year, they finally figured it out: win. >> rob: win and they will come. >> bob: the rays, by the way, are averaging 22 1/2 22500. kansasity, oakland and cleveland all have lower attendance as does baltimore. >> rob: you have to see jose aquendo over the years. he was one of the toughest outs for me. >> bob: swoo switch hitter. >> rob: switch hitter, from the left side, trying to slap the ball and you throw him a breaking ball and he would pull it for a double. >> bob: willie hits that one up the middle, knocked down by ben zobrist and managing to stay on the bag, carlos peqa. the nats leave a couple. they stranded four and t

. >> bob: that ball will fly to center for willie harris.still going, so is the ball, he makes the grab about eight to 10 feet in front of the wall. somewhere around 400 feet away. >> rob: that was flying away like southwest.com, but it came back. >> jim p.: you're talking to mr. southwest.com right here. that's how i get back to south florida and, again, the new buildings here. it's kind of funny about camden yards. when it was first built, the ball carried. then they built the football. then willie going, yep, it's going out. >> bob: a base hit by aubrey huff. >> jim p.: imagine that. >> bob: aubrey huff is five out of nine with two walks in this series. >> rob: and then the new buildings and in the back ground here in left center field, all of a sudden the dynamics change, the ball especially on sunday afternoons has tendency to carry a little better. kind of like oakland. oakland you pitch there at night. you go, wow, it's a great place to pitch. then sunday afternoon, anything in the air. >> rob: san francisco the same thing. san franci

let's go, willie. >> bob: interesting. adam dunn walks earlier in the inning, anderson is probably not available for this at-bat because he would have been the pinch runner. i like it, too, because anderson earned has great speed, millar playing almost on the grass. if there is a foot race, i'm going to give it to anderson. >> bob: the outfielders can't play so deep because there is a runner at second base. >> rob: and he has to be moving on contact. two out. crack of the bat, you are going. >> bob: he wasn't swinging at the first pitch after he walked a batter. anderson as a pinch hitter, 222- for-5. when he plays, it's usually a starting role. that's a breaking ball in there. started outside, came right back in on the inner half. >> rob: see the movement of this side winder curve ball right here. all right. now, you have to be protecting. >> bob: the swing, close enough, based on the strike 3 called to adam dunn. the nationals leave two. they stranded 5. oh, yeah, extra innings again. p it's on. - it's on. - oh

that's willie harris. excuse me, he's a total left- hander, but he'll play any position on the field. >> jim h.: out of georgia, which also produced hall of famer jackie robinson. his number retired in every major league city by every franchise by the commissioner. a ball and two strikes on willie harris. hernandez, 24 years old. this is outside, 2-2. he's out of sacramento, california, and a 16 round pick in 2005. >> rob: i like the fact we have three contact guys right at the top of the order. you have willie, cristian, johnson. >> jim h.: fouls it back. >> jim p.: willie, we saw it last night, where he took a 1-2 pitch off of jeremy guthrie who looked like early on at least the first two batters, had pretty good stuff. guzman singled, then jeremy guthrie walked in a couple of runs. >> jim h.: breaking ball outside. >> rob: i always felt when you get a guy like harris who can steal bases six out of seven, you really have to play him away and pitch him that way. it's all right to throw breaking balls when

willie harris. willie bounced out to the second baseman first time up. willie struggling with the bat. it hasn't affected his defense

. >> bob: here is willie harris who bounced out twice. what i'm trying to say, my message to our fans is, we know that this is difficult for you. we certainly do. >> rob: we'll all grow together. >> bob: that's a great way to put it. then when you win, you look back and say, you know what, we did it the right way. >> rob: that's right. >> bob: you can say, i came to the ballpark when we had 75 people there at the end of an extra inning game delayed by rain for two and a half hours. you know, crazy things happen on this journey. >> rob: well, you know, they keep comparing this ball club to the '62 mets. well, seven short years later, they win a world championship and they are the miracle mets. >> bob: the amazings. >> rob: the amazings. >> bob: if you want a little perspective on that, i wrote a blog on that last weekend which is on the masn website. the yankees -- or the mets back then were made up of washed up yankees, new york giants and brooklyn dodgers players. it was kind of a gimmick. load up the ross ter with players that the fans

willy has it squared up. happens when you're playing poorly and things aren't going your way. it continues to just rain bad happenings. >> let's look at the nationals bullpen today. tavarez came in as well as villone and beimel. >> our bullpen looks pretty good. the bullpen, we keep talking about young pitchers keeping us in the game giving us a chance to win. their bullpen retired 15 of our last 16 hitters. the only man to get on base was hernandez with a walk. >> i think somebody else had a tough day today. santana with the mets. nationals fly to start a series tuesday night at yankees stadium. jimmy, it's on. - it's on. - oh, yeah, it's on. affirmative, it's on. announcer: southwest airlines announces new service out of bwi airport, with three daily nonstop flights to new york laguardia for just 49 dollars one-way starting june 28th. grab your bag. it's on. - ( ding ) - book now at southwest.com. grab your bag. it's on. welcome to chili's. something new is on the grill. try chili's new fire-grilled quesadi

then after that season, the orioles traded willie to chicago for chris singleton, and willie went onto have some good years there. played for the braves, now with the mets. >> rob: and willie was an integral part of that world championship team in chicago. then picked up by the nationals after that. he's a great clubhouse guy. he'll play anytime anywhere, and you saw the graphic a little earlier in the game. hit number almost .300 since he got back in the line-up every day. he was hitting under .200 when he was playing once a week. so you've got to get repetition. it's very difficult to be sitting on the bench and getting four or five at-bats a week, like gregg zaun. he was joking today with dave trembley standing there, he goes, i was overexposed in the first six weeks. >> jim h.: that ends the inning. gregg zaun gets into one. his third home run. gs we all lk forward to haven't changed. like owning a home. watching our children grow. and retiring with confidence. so whatever you're looking forward to, m&t bank is here to help you get there. m&t bank. understanding what's important.

does willie harris surprise you with his power. now, he's in the lead-off spot of this ball club and will stay there until they finally lose a game. >> doesn't surprise me. he's i guess about 5'9" but he's put together. very strong lower body, his hips, legs, very muscular. he was a football player. he works extremely hard, and he's probably the strongest guy we have pound for pound on this ball club. >> you just described was when i take this coat off. >> i've seen you, john. >> exactly the same thing. >> i have seen you, johnny. >> with the buzz going for me. how about john lannan, i heard a comment, somebody asked him about now you're the ace of this staff, you're the key guy in this rotation. he said not really. i think everybody's going out there trying to do the best they can. if a guy throws a complete game, i want to throw a complete game. >> that's because he's humble. he's not the oldest, stammen is, but he's a guy that's been there the longest and has put together a tremendous resume. not in terms of won and losses, but

willie harris has become willie mays with the bat lately. the marlins have won five in a row at home. but they had to do that just to get back to the .500 mark. they have been pretty mediocre since they started the season 11-1. here's the southwest.com line-up for the nationals. and willie harris is on top, guzman, johnson, zimmerman, dunn, then josh willingham. so josh's numbers up to .278. >> rob: he went back to the minor leagues for a little bit, bob, maybe that attitude adjustment process or maybe just working on his pitches without the watchful eye of the major league media and everybody else might have helped him. give you the pnc bank scouting report on nicks. he's a big boy, don't lose that number, at the end of may, had a 9.07 e.r.a. since that a 1.8 in june. good command of all of his pitches, versus the washington nationals, he is captain destructive. >> bob: the marlins are the third worst defensive team in the national league. they've made 59 errors. they have a new left fielder chris coughlin who is also their lead-off man. em

willie has blazing speed, six steals on the year. he's been caught only once. >> jim p.: you don't run a lot on guthrie. i'm not sure that will be the case here. as you mentioned, you want to try to get runs on the board early, make it a little better for a young, martis is what, 21 years old? >> rob: yeah, he's 21, 22 years old. he hasn't won in six weeks, and it would be nice to take a little pressure off of him tonight, get a couple of runs, or at least one run across early. >> jim h.: cristian guzman batting at .33. he's tied for 8th in the national league in base hits, fifth in batting. the thing about guzman that i really like, regardless of if he's right or left, he really slaps the ball. >> rob: that's what i love about him. he doesn't overswing. he doesn't do too much. he knows his limitations, so he tries to just put the ball in play, use his speed. i think a lot of hitters could learn from a guy like cristian guzman. the more you put it in play, you put pressure on the defense, you use your speed, guys throw the ball away.

willie harris, two swinging strikeouts tonight.er debbi taylor will tell us about some nationals minor leaguers who have garnered some honors this week. good to know when your minor league guys are the best in their leagues at what they do for a certain period of time. the top three in the order, 0 for 6 tonight. that's high strike. >> bob: now, yesterday in baltimore, jim joyce didn't call a pitch like that a strike all day. so tonight you have a different umpire who is calling the high strike. he tries to stay up there, but he's too high. the nationals first five hitters, 1 for 10 with the zimmerman home run. so a base runner needed here in the fifth inning to get something going at that point in the order. willie late for it and he knocks it right into his own dugout. >> rob: hornsby didn't hit as many home rubs. 301 home runs, 1584 rbi, but a lifetime batting average of .358 for rogers hornsby. over 23 years. >> bob: he didn't have any maple bats. picked off by cantu. that will be it. the nats go in order in the top of the fift

willie harris, who does he think he is, zimmermann? willie harris with a great reaction play. i get you zimmermann enjoyed watching that. wow. >> rob: two shots on the first two hitters of the rays. willy is picking it over to 3 3rd base. that a boy. nice job. willie harris can play anywhere. i often forget -- i've always wanted to look in his locker to see how many gloves he has. longoria 2-7 with a couple of rbis over the weekend. he's just out of the top 10 in home runs with 14. >> bob: he's way up there in rbis. let's look at the nats defense. harris at 3rd, johnson at 1 1st. gonzalez replaces guzman today. dukes plays his third consecutive game starting in the out field. >> rob: detwiler has a fastball, changeup type pitcher. he's got two fastballs. two he throws right there about 90-94 miles per hour. basically a cutter, sinker, a righty. it's going to go away from him. >> bob: we figured longoria would warm up before the nats get out of town. that's three consecutive hits for him after going 0-5. here's carlos pena with three hits and a home run. >> rob: ross has an exc

willie harris hits a ball 400 feet and has b.j. upton run it down. that's what happens in the major league level. the ball is crushed. that will be the last pitch of the day for james shields. [cheering and applause] nats with a runner on in the 7th. tie game. izon fios. these are your widgets, they let you put whatever you're watching down here, while you check out local traffic, weather, even your news up there. i've got a news flash you're out of mayo. how did you get in here? door was open. you'd have tons of ways for you to search for content: by actor, director, any word at all. what about chicken? chicken's fine. any word. no i mean do you have any chicken? i want to eat some chicken. one of the coolest things you can do with fios... ...is stream your music and your photos from your computer to your tv. slideshows look and sound better than ever. and now is the best time to upgrade to fios all the time. want to tell them why? i do not. because you'll get up to $150 dollars back and over 100 hd channels when you upgrade to verizon fios. call th

willie harris. willie bounced out to the second baseman first time up. willie struggling with the bat. it hasn't affected his defense that's for sure. not like him to be 2-30. that ball gets by lyle overbay. bard heading for third. harris digging for second. alex rios digs it out and pat listach does need to hold him and he's still going to hold as the ball rolls across the infield. i mean, alex rios is a good right fielder with a good arm. it's hard to anticipate he's going to throw a ball to deflect off the glove of the cutoff man. >> rob: willie harris gets a pitch he likes. puts tonight right side of the infield pass a really good fielding lyle overbay. then, alex rios has trouble finding the handle. comes up. quickly throws it by his cutoff guy. you saw josh though. you see him running properly as bob told you many times run hard until that coach stops you. >> i wonder if cito gaston is thinking about an intentional walk here. >> rob: to bring the pitcher up. i -- >> bob: they're going to do it. in this league, you do that. so, jordan zimmermann wil

he pants at the letters and willie does not like it. willie harris says, man, i'm 5'9". >> rob: a high strike he set early in the game. it's been a high strike zone. keep it consistent. >> bob: runner going. strike 3. it's a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play and elijah dukes is gunned down for the second time in 9th steal attempts this year.  . >> debbi: a beautiful nigh the district. we are scoreless and we move to the top of the 3rd inning. combined, nats starters have a 2.02 e.r.a. here is more from manny acta on that. >> overall, when you play good defense, it gives guys confidence that they don't have to strike anybody out. that they don't have to be making the perfect pitch that if they are a sinker ball pitcher, they can sink the ball over the plate instead of trying to make guys chase. so that's a confidence booster to know that if guys put the ball into play, guys will make the plays. >> debbi: and it goes both ways, when pitchers are making good pitches, it keeps the infielders on their toes. >> bob: thank you, de

i'm not sure willie harris saw that ball properly. it really carried.late in the way he expresses not only what he wants from his pitchers, what he's demanding from his pitchers right now. >> rob: and you have to demand it. your job's at stake. shairon martis is going back for a refresher course at triple-a. it's simple, it's black and white. do your job or else. or else we'll get someone else that can do the job. you're up here to get outs. you're not up here, this isn't an instructional league. the major leagues. so i think he just wants guys to be confident, throw strikes and attack the strike zone. >> bob: on a damp night like tonight, doesn't carry. off the bat of ronny paulino. @ú oof! i hope he has that insurance. aflac! you really need it these days. how come? well if you're hurt and can't work it pays you cash... yeah to help with everyday bills like gas, the mortgage... ...and groceries. it's like insurance for daily living. so...what's it called? uhhhhh aflaaac!!!! oh yeah! that's it! aflac. we've got you under our wing. a-a-a-aflaaac! >> bob

willie has torment had the blue jays again. two on, nobody out. >> i love what willie harris did last night. right there just patience. the ball comes right into him. he sees it perfectly, is all over it. doesn't try to hit it out of the ballpark. just hit it on the line. >> that's willie harris with his fourth extra-base hit of the series. >> very nice. >> 13 extra base hits on the year, four of them since friday. right now marco scutaro saying to him, give us a break. here's josh bard, a good spot for him. he doesn't hit well against against left-handers, but he's swinging well. in 10 games in the month of june josh is eight for 29, batting .276 and he's been a little extra-base hit streak of his own lately. there's will getting a day off. 0-1 to bard. breaking ball, little bit low. ricky romero, 24 years of age from los angeles, graduated from roosevelt high school there, teddy roosevelt high school. that's a good take by bard. pitcher on deck, something brewing for the nats. second consecutive inning two on, nobody out. thi

willie harris chance to make it 5-0. he'll ground it. hits by dunn, dukes, gonzalez, bard. 4-0 nationals. are you insured? do you know when your beer is perfectly cold? or do you risk drinking a warm one? if you have the new coors light cold-activated can, you're covered. because now every can turns blue when your beer... is as cold as the rockies. it's cold insurance, only from coors light. cold beer: that's our policy. frost-brewed coors light. the world's most refreshing beer. how far can you see? at pnc, taking the long view is how we help you take the right path. even to change it when conditions demand. keeping you on the road to achieving your goals. it's something we've been doing for over 150 years. let our strength and stability be the basis for yours. pnc. leading the way. >>> nationals baseball on m brought to you in part by southwest airlines. book your next trip on www.southwest.com. and by honda. >>> what a nice day for a jog or walk here in st. petersburg. bottom of the 4th coming. >> bob: nationals lead 4-0. ross det

there is a lip there. 1-0 to willie harris lo is hitting .250. willie broke an 0-for-10.rza behind hip, 2-0. right now, it's a 30-pitch inning for one of the better young pitchers in the american league. garza 4, e.r.a. 3.55 coming into his 13 starts. top 9 in the league in strikeouts with 70. now, he goes 3-0. >> rob: it's number 31. >> bob: how about that, on the 7th man he is facing this inning. >> rob: here it is, 13 balls, 17 strikes. 30 total. and as i told you, 80% of his pitches, nothing but heaters. >> bob: and the nats might want more here. that's above the belt. he may be a little bit off in his command and control but he is still changing eye level. look at what willie has done here. runners will be going. dukes, he will be going now on a ground ball. race to the bag. garza gets there before willie harris. nats get three runs in the top of the 1st. rbis by adam dunn after singles by guzman and johnson and then the big hit for elijah dukes. it seems i've got three times the bills i used to. and they're getting in the way of things i'd like to do. with the money

. >> bob: bottom of the 10t josh bard, willie harris, hanley ramirez. nats were swept three at tampa bay, lost 2-3 in this ballpark earlier in the month to the orioles. batting average not good. runs per game, not good. e.r.a., good. a lot of tight ballgames. here is brandon league. league is a resident of honolulu from nick johnson's neighborhood in sacramento. 26 years of age, 6'2", 205. off and on career for the blue jays over the last five years. up and down, up and down. only averaging about 20 games a year. he's been back and forth between toronto and triple-a so much. brand new pitcher, first-pitch swinging. >> rob: you remember he took three strikes -- three strikes his last time, so he wanted to make sure he got a good hack in. figured league would try to get ahead with a fastball. he did and just missed it. >> bob: willie harris has had a fantastic night. 1-3, a double, a walk and a spectacular running catch on vernon wells to end the top of the ninth. nats would go on to get a leadoff man aboard and would never get the man off first base. >>

willie harris run that down, nice strong throw, just a little bit late, you see gonzales get in there. >> johnny: goes to the outside of the tag too. >> rob: very nice slide. yeah. he is a veteran player, sees the whole play in front of him. he knows if he goes to the right side he is out, so he goes to the left side. eighth double of the year. >> johnny: gonzalez leads off with a two-bagger, an r.b.i. single to right center field, driving the cincinnati run into second. he'll take the pitch, caught the outside corner for a strike. ross detwiler's longest outing this year has been six inning against baltimore back on may 23rd, only gave up one hit, one run, one earned run, walked four, struck out four, and threw 96 pitches in the six- inning, a quality start for him in that game against baltimore. tonight in the top of the fifth against cincinnati. a swing and a miss.   . >> rob: just got such great stuff. you can throw three pitches for strikes and go through the lineup three times you're gonna win a lot of ball games. ross can do it. he has that inner fire that i l

willie harris, you are awesome! @@ >>> well come whack to welcome back to nationals park. willie harris with that catch in the ninth. set to bring you nats "nats xtra". they have one final shot to run the winning streak to three in a row. >> they might go into extra innings too. they have to get bat off the shoulder. >> we've had lots and lots of thrills from this ball club let's send you back to bob and rob and see if nats can win in in regulation in the last of the ninth. >> bob: johnny, that would be sweet, because after regulation it has been ugly. nationals 0-8 -- >> rob: you had to say that! >> bob: i'm jinxing it. i cannot win with you. >> rob: i tell you what. if you could get bug spray up here, you could win with me. >> bob: all right. the guys you would like to have up there, johnson, zimmerman and dunn in the bottom of the ninth against jeremy accardo out for his second inning. >> rob: nick, the rest of them awful quiet. >> bob: nick johnson, 3-3 with a walk and now b

. >> bob: here is willie harris who made the play of the year in the outfield last night. >> rob: you see all that momentum. if you're a hitter and all of a sudden he pulls the string on an 80-mile-per-hour changeup and you're thinking it's a 92- mile-per-hour fastball, it's hard to lay off. remember pete shairk? >> bob: mets, yeah. >> rob: tallet reminds me of pete shairk. >> bob: yeah, similar build. >> rob: yeah, or a john smiley. >> bob: they list him at 6'6", 220. he tries that front door breaker again. willie took up and in. 1-2. >> rob: he really gets down the front of the mound too with that little hop at the mend end. he's bringing everything towards the hitter. >> bob: a little three-hopper out to aaron hill. we've got a good pitching matchup shaping up here early in this game between jordan zimmermann who just turned 23 and brian tallet who has been around a while. he's 31. >> rob: i thought he was 33. 31? >> bob: he'll be 3 # in september. >> rob: right, born in '77. >> bob: actually, born in baton rouge, but grew up lifts lives outside of oklahoma city. here is anderson h

willie harris gets a great jump. this throw, it's right there, but willie just beats the throw. be all right. borderline. that ball couldn't be played in a -- placed in a better spot as we see a different angle. how about this, josh willingham choosing to steal third base. wieters throws the ball away. we're able to get an easy run there. josh willingham, you mentioned he stole 90 bases i think in college. that's just a ball that got away from wieters, no chance to get him out there. >> look at the smile on dunn's face. there was a deal today the nationals pulled off. ryan langerhans moves to the seattle organization, in exchange for mike morris. >> anytime that you can get middle infielders, you do it. morris is a middle infielder. i think the key there is that, as our crack producer told us, the connection here is that jim riggleman was in seattle, so he saw this kid play, likes him, and we're just guessing that might be where this trade stemmed from. makes sense to you? >> it does make a lot of sense to me, raymond. 474 games for langerhans, 107 for morris, .300 batting avera

. >> johnny: and he will start with willy taveras to start the 8th. delivers a strike. 2-5-0 for cincinnati, 1-5-0 for the nationals. >> rob: once again, steve mccatty and rick eckstein, control what you can control. if you can get three outs, get six outs, do that and hold your head up. it is just a question right now of some well pitched innings by the cincinnati reds pitchers. it has been a well fought series by the nationals. >> johnny: dead ball just foul down the 3rd base line. when you look at tavarez's resume, he was born in the dominican republic. started off with cleveland. went the san francisco, colorado, the cubs, pittsburgh, the cardinals, the red sox, the braves, milwaukee and he is still pitching. and still pitching effectively. grounded to second. alberto gonzalez an to first and there's one away -- on to first and there's one away in the 8th. follow the nats with our i touch. it features video aye lights and live -- highlights and audio broadcasts. visit nationals.com on your iphone on the ipod touch to purchase. a lot of nationals f

willie harris over to cut it off. longoria is not fast.and evan longoria just collected his first base hit of this series after going 0 for 5 with a walk. so the nats have done a good job for two nights of containing this offense, but there's just very little offense to go with the good pitching so far. >> rob: jason bergmann continues to get hurt by that breaking ball. he has a great sinker. gets ahead of evan longoria, then he gets beat, you saw the weak swing by longoria. he kept his hands back long enough, worried about the 93 and he hits the 85 into left center field for a single. >> bob: we know carlos pena can tush on a fastball. >> rob: are you kidding me? a perfect bunt for a base hit. i'll actually as a pitcher take that, if he's going give up an at-bat and take a single, more power to him. this guy's one of the best power guys in the game. you want to hit for a single, go right ahead. double play's in order. he clogs up the bases without speed. two thrower men on their team on the bases right now. >> bob: i saw the first base co

willie harris has a bead on this one. quick outs for ross detwiler.  so willie harris getting th job tonight in center field done. 20-4 record for the reds, .883% scoring in the first inning, second in national league baseball. 270 homers with cincinnati, fourth most in team history in the nationals against right- handers this year hitting 270 and this year second in the national league. toronto pounced back after sunday's shutout at the hands of the mets, 7-0, only the second time this year the ball club has been shutout.  brandon phillips the re second baseman. with a .276 average coming in this ball game, 10 homers, driven in 41 but 27 runs, 21 walks and six stolen bases.  but when you talk abo strasburg, rob, becoming a member next year of what is a very, very young starting rotation here, that brings smiles to everybody's faces. >> rob: but not just one player. you need the entire, i've said this tim

willie harris will run it down, slides into second and he is safe. safefe at second.x gonzalez with the leadoff double to start the fifth inning for cincinnati.  . >> rob: we

here's willie, a chance to do some 2-out damage. breaking ball outside. i guarantee a lot of people in canada now know where cairo, georgia is. >> how about those home runs? that's crazy. 15 career home runs in the last 190 games, counting today. 31 on the 22nd of june, a birthday tomorrow. having a great weekend. willie right side. hill plays it well. nats frustrated. giver at toms shoes. i operate my entire business from my phone. i need a network with great coverage, because for every pair of shoes that we sell, we give a pair away to a child in need. it would be impossible for me to do this without a network that works around the world. (announcer) more bars in more places. at&t. the best coverage worldwide. >>> how does that chopper sta in the air? top of the fourth inning, guys and their dads, got finished showing a whole bunch of dad scenes from different movies, and of course they had to save kevin costner having a drink with his dad for the last one. >> what about robert redford at the end of the natural when he finds out that glenn close's son

he's on first base and willie harris comes up and again earlier in the game he made a great catch and became basically the story last night. willie harris has had a number of so-called defining moments with the washington nationals, but last night was about as good as it gets. >> not only offensively, but defensive with the glove as well. >> he's gotten the job done in center field, which is something this club has lacked. he's described as a super utility guy. he's played second base, third base, left field, right field. center field, he covers a lot of groundout there. basically great anticipation from the crack of the bat, and covers a lot of ground and basically if he can get to it, he'll catch it. >> debbie taylor is on the field. you've had a chance to visit with a couple of guys josh willingham and adam dunn. they have their sons here with them at the ballpark. >> first of ail, happy father's day to all the dads out there. the nationals have a very, very family oriented organization, and a lot of times we see the sons and daughters of the players in the clubhouse, on the field.

that's where the nationals took this lead. >> jim h.: 0-2 on willie harris. fouls it back to stay alive. guzman and johnson to follow. the orioles in the bottom of the ninth, reimold, scott and salazar due up. >> rob: it's very important for the bullpen to try to keep scores the way they found it when they came in the ballgame. if you start giving up tack on runs, very difficult to keep chasing the lead. >> jim p.: a splitter that hangs up. if it's so good, two-seamer, he has to pitch down in the strike zone. you go back, the dropped throw at home plate, that allows the nationals to get a run, the throw in to left field by wieters, that's another run. those are the differences. then the base running by aubrey huff. when you play against a team that has a good pitcher on the mound, you can't make a lot of mistakes. >> jim h.: bouncer to first. aubrey huff steps on the bag, throw to second and out at second base. nicely turned and a nice tag by andino. so the reverse, three unassisted double play. >> jim p.: it doesn't get a whole lot better than that. we have

i wouldn't say the experiment is over with willie harris, but with willie not in the lineup tonight,it's pretty much guzman, johnson, zimmerman and dunn, top four as they had been most of the season. sean west is huge. this kid is 23 years of age. just had a birthday june 15. he's 6'8", 240, a former imen compensation pick, 44th player taken overall back in 2005. >> rob: well, you know, he's a lot like our young starters. he's having a rollercoaster ride of success this season. it will be interesting to see what he features tonight. let's give you the pnc bank scouting report on sean west. obviously, intimidating presence. he's 6'8", a huge left-handed pitcher. it's his eighth career start at the major league level and obviously fredi gonzalez and the marlins are looking for consistency. a couple outings ago against the yankees, five earned runs. against balm, no earned runs. they'd like to see a little more like the orioles start. >> bob: marlins defensively, third worst team in the league and the marlins just ahead of the nats and the arizona diamondbacks. cody ross can get them in

here's willie harris who has walked and struck out.but the nationals needed somebody to come alive in that catcher's spot. bard and nieves both capable back-up type guys and the nationals, and rob knows all about this from a pitcher's standpoint, jim, they have really missed jesus flores since he went out. he was hitting well in the number seven spot, the eight hole some nights, throwing runners out, hand handling a young staff, and she is a young guy himself but he was playing like a veteran. >> rob: and the catcher, the catching position is difficult for the orioles, too, with wieters up he learning as he's going along as a rookie. you have to be the field general. you to take over the pitching staff. it's now your teaen you're the every datcher. will nieves, you see him there. and they have been platooning bard and nieves ever since flores got hurt. but stl, wherthe team and take hing staff. >> bob: willy harris taps one right in important of the mound. he was slow getting out of the box. he recovers in time to beat the relay. >> r

willie harris is tracking it. waved off elijah.the rays go in order, bottom of the 7th.  >> bob: beautiful evening in st. petersburg, florida, especially for the rays fans. they lead it 8-2 as we go to the 8th. you can follow the nats on your iphone and ipod touch. featuring play-by-play, video highlights and live audio broadcasts. visit nationals.com on your iphone or ipod touch to purchase. anderson hernandez, cristian guzman and nick johnson. andy sonnanstine, seven innings, 77 pitches. he's well on his way to his second career complete game. this guy pitches like this, it's hard to believe he's only had one. >> rob: i watched him a lot last year and he was really tough down the stretch for this team. when he's on, he's really on. >> bob: that ball well hit by hernandez, unreachable even for b.j. upton. it will one hop the wall for a double and the nats will have their first base hit since guzman back in the third. anderson hernandez 2 for 3 tonight. it's a pretty good muscle for a guy who bunted for a b

willie harris takes a fastball in there. >> rob: they've got to make him stop. he's a quick worker and will try to get ahead of you and then go to the fourth ball. make him work at your pace when you're hitting. already ready up on the mound.  >> bob: willie harris 1 tonight a-double and a walk caught stealing in the sixth. >> rob: this goes back a couple of years, but in 2007 against 124 left-handed hitters, held them to a .161 average with that fourth ball and no home runs. righties because he can't throw that fourth ball hit .250 with four homers in 124 at-bats. >> bob: that's a hard breaking ball down and in. >> rob: it got him. >> bob: almost a cutter -- >> rob: it might have been a cutter. guy used to throw high 90s and that is a cutter. >> bob: sheer hernandez. >> rob: holding the ball offcenter throwing it just like a fastball, but the grip makes it slide out like a football. that's exact -- third base that's exactly what we left up there when mariano rivera only made one appearance. >> bob: a bunt, but it's too close to the pitcher. two outs. >

a double play by willie harris and johnson. detwiler is out of the 2nd inning.  >>> today's telecast celebrating the birthday of u.s. army on masn. we serve today for a safe tomorrow. panasonic computers. navy federal credit union. we serve where you serve. >> bob: well some clouds in the sky today. some cloud cover this morning made it pleasant on the way to the ball park. detwiler, the double play saving him pitchers against the good offensive ball club. >> bob: he's done things i said in the report, finish them off, be economical with the pitches. you've got to come right after them. so what if they hit it. >> bob: in contrast, zimmermann threw two innings last night. 4 strikeout, 37 pitches. >> rob: this is a double contact there. you can't bunt it twice even if you're that good. watch this. bunt. >> bob: did you see the angle of that ball coming off of home plate? it went out straight toward fair territory. that was interesting. i like it when the little guys bump around the infield. put pressur

shairon did an excellent job. >> johnny: 0-9 the last four games willy has played in. he went through three straight sunday through thursday. >> rob: in the last few innings, harang has stepped up velocity against our hitters. now he's throwing a lot of sinkers and cutter, but they're all fastballs. he totally changed his approach to our hitters in the third lineup. >> johnny: that's the mark of a good pitcher to be able to do that and adjust the gameover all. >> rob: he's feeling it. you see him hitting that same spot over and over. he's going to make harris beat him to the field. >> johnny: drives to left field, pops up down the left field line, foul. six road starts, he's 1-4. he's been banged up a little on the road. 2-2 and two outs in the bottom of the 7th. willie harris in for shairon martis. we'll see joel hanrahan in the 8 8th. harris way fly to right. the nats are retired. we go to the top of the 8th inning at nationals park. reds are tossing a 2-0 shutout. take the right path. even to change it when conditions demand. keeping you on the road to achieving you

rob talked about willy hitting a .238, but he has hit safely in five of his last six games at a .333 clip and he has hit a couple of home runs. you make a mistake and he can drive it to right field. 2-1. and this is a great ballpark for left-handed hitter whose can pull. >> jim: and even if you go the other way. >> bob: it is not a very deep gap as you mentioned earlier. 318 to the scoreboard. willy does turn on one, but he hooks it foul. >> jim: and it is a very slow infield that has gotten progressively faster. and that helps the hitters. the orioles did come in leading the american league in batting average of .300, but a very slow infield early on and -- >> bob: now you say progressively faster, is that weather related or by design? >> jim: i think if you talk about how slow it is enough, eventually it gets as fast as some of the other ballparks you play in. >> bob: we've heard rumors of some parks that are about to get slotter actually and willie harris takes that one for a strike and the nationals are gone in the top the fourth. they've left four. it is a 1-1 game after three a

josh bard will catch and followed by willie harris and anderson hernandez.n, .419 on-base percentage this year. seven knot the national league. team batting average for washington, .259, tied for sixth in the national league. for the orioles, left fielder nolan reimold, his first career home run came off of mariano rivera for the yankees back on may 20th. he is among the american league leader force the triple counsel. the o's lineup tonight, brian roberts leads off at second. jones will be in center field, nick markakis, after four hits yesterday against the marlins, he'll be in right and then huff, reimold in left field, luke scott the d.l., -- d.h., mora and andino will be playing at shortstop. the team batting average for the o's is .270, and that is tied for sixth best in the american league. welcome back back. johnny holliday along with ray knight. it is nats' extra pre-game on masn brought to you by our friends at verizon wireless. we haven't had this in some time. going back for the chin music, and, of course, when you have the chin music, you have t

wil nieves, elijah dukes, and then willie harris.he nats only have one left- handed bat on the bench tonight. you never know when you might need your other catcher for later action. here's nieves 1 for 2 with an infield hit. target in, he gets under that one. looks like it's going to stay in the park for now. it's up against the board, and caught by cody ross. oh, if wil could have pulled that ball just a little bit, it would have been a double or his second career home run. >> rob: ricky nolasco may be running out of a little gas. that fastball right there, almost left the building. cold di ross will run it down, right up against the wall. deepest part of the park. a lot of balls have gone out there to die, or be caught. >> bob: wil knows how close he was right there. here's elijah dukes. of the guys on the bench, he easily has the most power, and manny knows that one swing of the bat might decide this game, 2-2 in the 8th. dukes is in a big-time slump though. he's four for his last 31 and they are killing him with breaking balls. >

willie harris gets on his horse right there, gets after it.nd the walls come on you pretty quick here in this ballpark. >> jim p.: probably the toughest field it play here is left field. when the late johnny oates managed here, he moved brady anderson. he said i'm going to put you in left, and manny acta after that great catch by harris tries to make the pitching change. she wants to make up. we decide to turn in early. we just know. announcer: finding the moment that's right for you both can take some time. that's why cialis gives men with erectile dysfunction options: 36-hour cialis or cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. don't drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset st

right there is willie harris. after all that, the nats still a chance to put this game away. patterson, guzman, johnson ahead. ÷pñ)y